Evelyn Palla, the chairman of Deutsche Bahn, admitted that the company has still made mistakes in the general renewal of its rail network. “It is true that we have only managed to cut disruptions by about fifty percent so far” she told “Der Spiegel”. “Perhaps in the past we were somewhat too optimistic”. Nevertheless, she affirmed that the renewal will continue. Previously, the same track sections were repeatedly closed every few weeks, meaning the same commuters were constantly affected. Palla pledged to refine the processes and emphasized that “we learn from every corridor renewal”.
Palla was responding to criticism of the first two large-scale renewal projects – one between Frankfurt and Mannheim and another between Berlin and Hamburg – which have been delayed. “Our projects are indeed timed tightly, but many renewals cannot afford a postponement” she explained.
She urged passengers to be patient, attributing current problems to decisions made ten to fifteen years ago when the network was under‑funded. “Today we are investing much more, but the system still reacts sluggishly” Palla said. “We will only notice improved punctuality with a lag, and it will take roughly ten years for the network to be in a good state again”.
In the meantime, the company is focusing on matters that passengers already appreciate. “If I’m already in a delayed ICE, at the very least it should be clean, the toilets should work, and the onboard bistro should offer a full selection” Palla said. Although 98 % of the toilets are already functional, she added that “we still want to add a little more and make the customer service visibly better”.
Following the violent death of a train attendant in February, Palla announced further safety measures for staff. All DB Regio customer‑service agents received body cameras, and the rollout was extended to all customer‑contact employees after the security summit. The missing element, she noted, is audio recording, which is currently blocked by data‑protection concerns. “I hope for political support on that” she said.
Regarding Karin Dohm, the finance chief who is expected to leave after less than three months, Palla distanced herself from the decision. “Ms Dohm is an experienced manager. The rest is the responsibility and decision of the supervisory board, and I will not pre‑empt them” she said. Dohm is contractually entitled to up to two years’ salary as severance. When asked whether she would advocate for a reduction of that entitlement, Palla replied, “That decision is not in my hands; it is for the supervisory board to decide”.
